


A Perfect Circuit

by Whoareyou0000



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Daniel thinking too deeply, M/M, Magic, Merritt to the rescue, Post-Now You See Me, Pre-Slash, Teamwork, why do I love to torture poor Daniel?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 13:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21495286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whoareyou0000/pseuds/Whoareyou0000
Summary: Daniel is the bearer of the Horsemen's power and Merritt is the switch that frees him from its deadly surge. When Daniel takes on too much, all of the Horsemen must band together to save his life. Merritt/J. Daniel Atlas pre-slash.
Relationships: J. Daniel Atlas/Merritt McKinney
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	A Perfect Circuit

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Now You See Me or the characters. 
> 
> Authors Note: This takes place following Now You See Me and is AU in the sense that the Horsemen are not in hiding anymore and Henley is still around.

Daniel has never been one for teamwork. 

Truthfully, he’s never cared much for getting to know other people at all. They’ve always been props in his own personal magical act, things that he can move around and between to make the show feel real. The ones he can’t shift at will, well they have no use in his show anyway.

Maybe that makes him a dick. Actually, it probably does. Still, he doesn’t know any other way and has no desire to seek out one. Life is a show, and his shows are his life. 

Then he moves into that scummy apartment with three other magicians who he could have never predicted would play such an important part in his show. At first, they are just props, talented props of course with skills that compliment his own. He keeps his distance, doing only the bare minimum of interaction. A year passes, though, and they become something far stronger than he ever anticipated. Like lightening trapped in a bottle, he has been captured in a circuit that he cannot break even when it nearly burns him alive. 

Henley is the power source. When she asserts herself, pushing her own ideas, he has no desire to shuffle her to the side like he did with the rest of his assistants. She gets under his skin in a powerful way which can became too much somedays. Too much of an intense thing can sting, especially when it forces the magician to show his hand, but Henley is the voltage that inspires and energizes the Horseman and they’d be in the dark without her spark.

Jack is the conductor. He guides the sun across the sky and provides warmth to all in his path. He acts as a sponge, absorbing Daniel’s tricks and blueprints with ease and unbridled excitement. Though he throws his own talent into their shared power, he also carries the current and filters it between those who don’t connect as easily. With Jack, Daniel finds himself smiling more. Relaxing, even. He is warm and safe in the boy’s presence and Jack’s acceptance of Daniel’s burdens give him the courage to show more of himself to the other Horsemen.

Daniel still clings to his burdens, though. He holds on tightly, to his cards and to his current, as if the entire world is on the other end of the line playing a competitive game of tug-o-war and he’s all alone protecting his, well, everything. 

He holds on so tightly that sometimes, as in the case of their last show, he gets electrocuted.

It happens so quickly. He steps onto the dark stage to begin the cleanup in bare feet, leaving his shoes and socks to dry off somewhere nearby. Then he picks up the electrical cord, which, unbeknownst to him, is still live. He vaguely hears Merritt scream a desperate warning.

“Danny, don’t!”

The current burns his closed palms and sends waves of utter agony through his body. His feet sink into their mark on the stage, still damp from Henley’s shark tank act, and feel like they’re melting into the wood. His lips freeze and any attempt at showmanship lands flat within his convulsing chest. His heart beats so fast that he loses count of the silent spaces in-between. Every nerve screams. Still, his fingers entwine tightly around the wire because he knows that it’s his role to consume power and his life that will soon be ending. 

It’s Merritt’s hands on his shoulders that pull him off that cord. It’s Merritt who hugs his convulsing body to his sturdy frame from behind and drags him out of the water puddle and onto dry floor. It’s Merritt who gets shocked right along with him, because he wouldn’t dare let another magician die under his watch. Then those fingers work to find the pulse in his neck. In his fugue state, Daniel hears the older man’s ragged breathing, feels the fiery heat in his fingertips. 

He’s been burned too. 

“Henley, call 911. Jack, get Dylan. Nobody cross over here!” Hands urgently probe his now-bare chest. “Come on Danny-boy, stay with me.”

As if on Merritt’s command, Daniel’s body comes back to life. He gags, expelling something that tastes like a mix of bile and blood, and immediately chokes it back down his throat. His body is rolled to the side, where he empties the terrible taste from his mouth. There he stays, and stares at his distorted reflection in the shiny black tile. He sees wide unblinking eyes, lax lips, and cheeks shining with fresh tears. The mentalist’s face appears behind him, a similar shine on his cheeks.

“Merritt…” It feels funny in his mouth, like a too-big piece of taffy from the food truck on the corner where he used to perform. 

“Christ, thank you. Thank you.” He’s being hugged from behind by the larger man who is now sharing the floor with him. “That’s the best sound I ever heard, kid.” 

Every inch of Daniel’s body aches. Still, he manages to lean his head back into the crook of Merritt’s arm and curl himself into a quivering ball beneath his comforting weight. Merritt doesn’t let go of him until the ambulance arrives, until they’re pried apart and forced onto separate gurneys in the same ambulance. Even then Daniel keeps his eyes trained on Merritt as needles are shoved into their arms and multicolored wires are stuck to their chests because Merritt is the switch that unburdens the load, unburdens Daniel.

Daniel and Merritt are sent home five days later with first degree burns on their hands. Their bandage restraints make card tricks impossible and metaphorically chain them both to the couch. Daniel gets grumpy and restless during that month of healing and Merritt practices his hypnotism to the point of annoyance. Henley reminds them both that their talents will be there, waiting, once their bodies are ready to handle that amount of spark. Jack remains a positive connecting force, making sure they’re all spending quality teambuilding time together.

Merritt and Daniel mock each other endlessly for the first week until they run out of reasons and realize that it’s much easier to just admit their mutual attractions. In that moment, Daniel releases his hold on his past and looks ahead into a future where life and love exist in ways he never could have imagined. Where one man releases his burdens and brings him back from the brink of a deadly power surge. Where two others provide the light he never would have found as a single melting candle on his last match.

Where the show always goes on because their circuit is connected and flowing perfectly. 

Daniel thinks of all this as he crawls into Merritt’s bed and merges perfectly with that space beneath his right arm. Merritt hugs him close and whispers something simple and yet powerful enough to break this sentimental thought pattern and, finally, lull him to sleep.

“No more thinking tonight, Danny. I love you. Now, close your eyes.” 

And so he does.


End file.
